The bark is very useful in some cases. For instance, when I had my gallbladder attack, I was in so much pain I couldn't yell loud enough to get anyones attention upstairs, so I got Sawyer to bark and he woke everyone up so they could take me to the ER. The strange part was the bark he made, it was not his normal bark or any bark that Erin or I taught him, it was just one of those barks that everyone knew that something was wrong. So, the bark is very useful, especialy from a dog that doesn't usually bark. The way we taught Sawyer his normal bark was to just call/whisper his name repeatedly. My guess is is that the only reason he barked was to tell us to shut the hell up, you're annoying me. Or we would just get him really excited and praise/treat him when he made any kind of noise to start then eventually got to the point where we would only praise/treat a bark..

katiek0417 wrote:Lyss, both Greg and I have noticed that female (especially intact ones) seem to be a bit more suspicious than males...so they tend to bark more...

She is definitely very suspicious and aloof with those she doesn't know. But in addition to that she is PUSHY PUSHY PUSHY and if you don't give her what she wants she has no problem literally getting up in your face and barking at you. Momma's little douchebag. I love her

"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another." -Anatole France

katiek0417 wrote:Lyss, both Greg and I have noticed that female (especially intact ones) seem to be a bit more suspicious than males...so they tend to bark more...

She is definitely very suspicious and aloof with those she doesn't know. But in addition to that she is PUSHY PUSHY PUSHY and if you don't give her what she wants she has no problem literally getting up in your face and barking at you. Momma's little douchebag. I love her

That totally sounds like Sacha...she barks if she doesn't get what she wants when she wants it...it's brutal...I'm forever yelling her to shut up...

SisMorphine wrote:Jeez. I really wish my dog was at quiet as yours!! Why the hell would you want him to bark

Teeny'll bark if a leave falls in the neighbor's yard, or if she feels like it. I swear half of the time there are curse words coming out of her mouth, pushy broad. I'll trade ya.

I wonder if she learned that from Petey. He's the same way.

Mike is highly amused at how well Petey has trained us to respond to the variety of barks, grumbles, oinks and whines he makes. Visitors find it highly amusing that Petey can make noise & we know what he wants from the other room.

Why can't I have a dog that makes a 'normal' amount of noise? I have a noise bucket and a mute.

Moral courage is the most valuable and usually the most absent characteristic in men ~ General George S. Patton, Jr.

She taking all the stars down from her sky to hang them up someplace new, where there's better weather and the sky's a different blue. ~ Autumn Fields

Matt, based on the video you posted of this dog he looks like a prey monster. Very high prey dogs will often "lock" onto a focus point to the exclusion of everything else.

Very true! My first Mal was super drivey but like Matt's dog simply wouldn't bark despite being driven crazy for her tug or a decoy. She was not a barker at all otherwise either. What finally worked for me was getting her worked up for a toy behind a barrier. We used a fence and it took several sessions but it finally happened. Might be worth trying

katiek0417 wrote:That totally sounds like Sacha...she barks if she doesn't get what she wants when she wants it...it's brutal...I'm forever yelling her to shut up...

Well this makes me feel better that even those with highly trained dogs tell them to shut up

I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day, tomorrow doesn't look good either.
_______________________________________
"You didn't know of the magical powers of the break stick? It's up there with genies and Harry Potter as far as magic levels go." SisMorphine 01/07/07

Matt, based on the video you posted of this dog he looks like a prey monster. Very high prey dogs will often "lock" onto a focus point to the exclusion of everything else.

Very true! My first Mal was super drivey but like Matt's dog simply wouldn't bark despite being driven crazy for her tug or a decoy. She was not a barker at all otherwise either. What finally worked for me was getting her worked up for a toy behind a barrier. We used a fence and it took several sessions but it finally happened. Might be worth trying

Great point...build up some frustration...Matt, anyway you can put Kayden away and let him watch you play with another dog?

Malli wrote:Well this makes me feel better that even those with highly trained dogs tell them to shut up

Oh yeah, of course, with the exception of Sacha, it's mainly our young dogs. There's never a peep out of Asja...even Nisha doesn't make much noise (but she's a "spinner" in her crate). Cy and Jue only make noise if a female is in heat (or coming in to heat)...Rocky was very noise...Kiyah is also very noisy...and Nemo decided he was comfortable enough yesterday to bark

I have tried teasing him with a toy by shaking it in front of him, pulling it across the ground etc.. You can really shake anything in front of him and he will want to go after it but if you withhold it from him his eyes just bug out of his head and he just stares at it forever. He also has a habit of jumping straight up in the air next to your head over and over again if you withhold a toy. I have taught him to sit for his balls, tugs, etc.. so this behavior has been reduced but if he doesn't get the toy he will continue to jump, run in circles around you, etc.. (but will not make a peep). I have only heard him bark a few times (lawnmower, someone approaching the house, etc..)

He seems to get agitated with things that vibrate (again, don't ask). If I could create a toy that vibrates (something soft that he could bite) would this be ok?

It sounds like you're locking the dog onto the prey object, which is why the dog doesn't want to bark. Barrier frustration may help, but it's tough to do it right and be in a position to reward the instant the dog vocalizes. I'm available this weekend. Don't bring beer, we have a ton.

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"My first priority will be to reinstate the assault weapons ban PERMANENTLY as soon as I take office...I intend to work with Congress on a national no carry law, 1 gun a month purchase limits, and bans on all semi-automatic guns."-Barack Obama"When in doubt, whip it out."-Nuge

"My first priority will be to reinstate the assault weapons ban PERMANENTLY as soon as I take office...I intend to work with Congress on a national no carry law, 1 gun a month purchase limits, and bans on all semi-automatic guns."-Barack Obama"When in doubt, whip it out."-Nuge

A good quiet command/cue is essential for some dogs...Inara came pre-wired, from the factory, with a loud alert system. Nothing got past her detection system...nothing! Passing clouds, falling leaves, a rustle in the grass, a piece of paper gusting past...not to mention other dogs outside, people walking, doorbell ringing, etc. It was truly amazing...but I did have to disconnect some wires...so the system wasn't quite so sensitive.

Now it's only on if something major happens (someone at the door, at the fence, etc.).

A quiet command is a beautiful thing.

"I don't have any idea if my dogs respect me or not, but they're greedy and I have their stuff." -- Patty Ruzzo

"Dogs don't want to control people. They want to control their own lives." --John Bradshaw

When she barks on command, there's no problem stopping her (she never barks spontaneously).

When she whines because she is anxious (which she did not do before we opened Pandora's box of sound), nothing works, except maybe stuffing her mouth with a pair of sucks and taping it shut with duct tape (and even there she'd probably whine through her nose).

I was just saying that as a warning, I used to have a completely silent dog, and I actually enjoyed it.

TheRedQueen wrote:A good quiet command/cue is essential for some dogs...Inara came pre-wired, from the factory, with a loud alert system. Nothing got past her detection system...nothing! Passing clouds, falling leaves, a rustle in the grass, a piece of paper gusting past...not to mention other dogs outside, people walking, doorbell ringing, etc. It was truly amazing...but I did have to disconnect some wires...so the system wasn't quite so sensitive.

Now it's only on if something major happens (someone at the door, at the fence, etc.).

A quiet command is a beautiful thing.

Erin, just looking for some ideas since I don't want to use corrections with Nemo just yet...how were you able to teach the quiet command...

On a side note, we started doing some stuff with the clicker, and he's taking to it BEAUTIFULLY. He's already pretty much learned watch me!

When she barks on command, there's no problem stopping her (she never barks spontaneously).

When she whines because she is anxious (which she did not do before we opened Pandora's box of sound), nothing works, except maybe stuffing her mouth with a pair of sucks and taping it shut with duct tape (and even there she'd probably whine through her nose).

I was just saying that as a warning, I used to have a completely silent dog, and I actually enjoyed it.

I had the same problem with my last dog...I'm not sure he even knew he was whining...so it was hard to get rid of the behavior. He was anxious to start with...and once I started teaching "speak"...he got to whining all of the time. Sucked big time.

Erin, just looking for some ideas since I don't want to use corrections with Nemo just yet...how were you able to teach the quiet command...

On a side note, we started doing some stuff with the clicker, and he's taking to it BEAUTIFULLY. He's already pretty much learned watch me!

Yea for Nemo!

Basically, I started with c/t for no noise at all. At first it was only for about a millisecond with Inara in the car...she used to SCREAM. So I would c/t when she took a breath. Within a few weeks, she was up to 30 minutes of quiet...and soon it was almost completely quiet in the car. She rarely makes noise now. I used the same thing in general with her...not just in the car, but that was the worst of it.

"I don't have any idea if my dogs respect me or not, but they're greedy and I have their stuff." -- Patty Ruzzo

"Dogs don't want to control people. They want to control their own lives." --John Bradshaw